If you're one of our U.S. visitors, hopefully you're enjoying a nice day off, and we thank you for spending some time with us. But if you're old enough, probably you remember the glory days when Lincoln's b-day and Washington's b-day were celebrated as separate holidays. Merge them into one? What an outrage! Imagine your parents deciding to celebrate you and your sister's b-day on the same day.
Meanwhile, baseball is, in fact, celebrated every day in the summer, except those occasional Monday's when everybody but the Pirates and Brewers are off. But hey, it's better than watching a "reality show," so you'll tune in—and there's always the chance it could be Oliver Perez vs. Ben Sheets. Now there's a topic worth discussing: the explosion of young pitchers in the last five years. And not just young pitchers, but good young pitchers.
Some time ago at Da Box, we had a long list posted of all the pitching talent emerging in this Era Of The Hitter. I can't find that list, and frankly would not want to look, but we don't need it. Here are just a dozen or so names to look at:
Johan Santana
Roy Halladay
Mark Prior
Carlos Zambrano
Jake Peavy
Roy Oswalt
Barry Zito
Tim Hudson
Mark Mulder
Ben Sheets
Oliver Perez
Rich Harden
Jason Schmidt
Javier Vazquez
There are no doubt others who I've left out. And while Schmidt and Hudson, in particular, are not necessarily "young" anymore, nor are they as old as, say, Mike Mussina. (Nor am I, thankfully—but I am close.) Then there are all those raw but undeniably up-and-coming arms—the A's kids, for example—who may yet put a dent in the TINSTAPP theory. Are there more than usual? Probably not. But it seems that, over the last few years in particular, fewer-and-fewer pitchers are taking fewer-and-fewer licks in the majors. (Go check out Greg Maddux's first few years, for example; his struggles represent the rule, not the exception.) When you consider all the Amazing Older Pitchers—you know who you are—this is both the Era Of The Hitter AND the Era Of The Pitcher.
So what will win out in the coming years? Will young pitchers continue to develop more quickly, as it seems now, and thus become less of a premium? Are we heading toward a period of pitcher-dominated statistics? (Which, if it occurs, would then be blamed, more than likely, on MLB's "clampdown" on steroid usage, a gross oversimplification which takes away from the considerable accomplishments of pitchers today.) Or will hitters continue to get all the attention?
In other words, how much longer before Nike invades us with a "Chicks Dig The Strikeout" ad campaign?
Meanwhile, baseball is, in fact, celebrated every day in the summer, except those occasional Monday's when everybody but the Pirates and Brewers are off. But hey, it's better than watching a "reality show," so you'll tune in—and there's always the chance it could be Oliver Perez vs. Ben Sheets. Now there's a topic worth discussing: the explosion of young pitchers in the last five years. And not just young pitchers, but good young pitchers.
Some time ago at Da Box, we had a long list posted of all the pitching talent emerging in this Era Of The Hitter. I can't find that list, and frankly would not want to look, but we don't need it. Here are just a dozen or so names to look at:
Johan Santana
Roy Halladay
Mark Prior
Carlos Zambrano
Jake Peavy
Roy Oswalt
Barry Zito
Tim Hudson
Mark Mulder
Ben Sheets
Oliver Perez
Rich Harden
Jason Schmidt
Javier Vazquez
There are no doubt others who I've left out. And while Schmidt and Hudson, in particular, are not necessarily "young" anymore, nor are they as old as, say, Mike Mussina. (Nor am I, thankfully—but I am close.) Then there are all those raw but undeniably up-and-coming arms—the A's kids, for example—who may yet put a dent in the TINSTAPP theory. Are there more than usual? Probably not. But it seems that, over the last few years in particular, fewer-and-fewer pitchers are taking fewer-and-fewer licks in the majors. (Go check out Greg Maddux's first few years, for example; his struggles represent the rule, not the exception.) When you consider all the Amazing Older Pitchers—you know who you are—this is both the Era Of The Hitter AND the Era Of The Pitcher.
So what will win out in the coming years? Will young pitchers continue to develop more quickly, as it seems now, and thus become less of a premium? Are we heading toward a period of pitcher-dominated statistics? (Which, if it occurs, would then be blamed, more than likely, on MLB's "clampdown" on steroid usage, a gross oversimplification which takes away from the considerable accomplishments of pitchers today.) Or will hitters continue to get all the attention?
In other words, how much longer before Nike invades us with a "Chicks Dig The Strikeout" ad campaign?
